By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 23 May 2013
FOREIGN Minister K. Shanmugam yesterday said that key questions in the case involving American researcher Shane Todd that his family had raised could have been addressed better if they had chosen to testify in court, instead of walking out on the coroner's inquiry into his death.
These include the conflicting accounts of how a major piece of evidence had been recovered.
They had also claimed they did not know a witness, though he testified that they had met in Singapore just days after their son was found dead last June.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister, made these points at a press conference held just hours after the Todd family discharged their lawyers and announced they had decided not to participate further in the inquiry.
The minister said: "They asserted that this hard drive had been processed by a third party after Dr Todd's death and that the hard drive contained information which had been overlooked by the Singapore police.
"(But) the hard drive was something the police had looked at... and in fact was something that the police had handed over (to the family) in the presence of US embassy officials."
Mr Rick Todd and his wife Mary had said they found a hard drive containing sensitive Singapore Institute of Microelectronics (IME) work files in their son's apartment shortly after his death. Those files, they said, link IME to Huawei Technologies, a Chinese firm suspected of espionage by the US government.
Dr Todd's body was discovered hanged against a toilet door in his apartment on June 24 last year. His parents, however, believe he was murdered over his work for IME.
Mr Rick Todd and his wife Mary had said they found a hard drive containing sensitive Singapore Institute of Microelectronics (IME) work files in their son's apartment shortly after his death. Those files, they said, link IME to Huawei Technologies, a Chinese firm suspected of espionage by the US government.
Dr Todd's body was discovered hanged against a toilet door in his apartment on June 24 last year. His parents, however, believe he was murdered over his work for IME.
Another point of contention was the testimony by Dr Todd's former IME colleague Luis Montes, who saw Dr Todd alive in the evening, a day before his body was found.
Dr Todd's parents claimed neither they nor their son's girlfriend recognise Dr Montes, even though he testified yesterday that he had met them last year when they arrived in Singapore following their son's death.
Mr Shanmugam also noted the timing of the family's decision to quit the proceedings, which came a day after a medical expert they had engaged retracted part of his findings in court.
"Last week, (the Todd family) said they were... happy with the process and with the judge and took part," Mr Shanmugam said. "It's unfortunate they decided to leave after their key witness gave testimony." The expert, Dr Edward Adelstein, had initially said Dr Todd was garrotted - which means strangled with a cord or wire to death - but retracted this on Tuesday.
The Straits Times understands that the Todd family will leave Singapore this morning.
Mr Shanmugam said the conflicting accounts "could have been better looked at if the family had chosen to come to court to give their testimony".
"We hope they will take part, but if they don't, it is regrettable but the inquiry will proceed per the requirements of the law."
It would have been useful to hear the family's view: Shanmugam
FOREIGN and Law Minister K.Shanmugam raised several points about the decision of Dr Shane Todd's family to walk out of the coroner's inquiry into his death. Here are some of them:
On the family's assertions that had been contradicted by the state's investigations and a witness:
"It would have been useful if the family had continued (participating in the coroner's inquiry)... It would have been useful to hear the family's side as to how they came to a different view of the facts."
On the timing of the family's decision:
"The family said last week they were happy with the way the inquiry was proceeding... and that they had faith in the Singapore court system. It's unfortunate that they decided to leave after their key witness, Dr (Edward) Adelstein, gave testimony. Dr Adelstein, as it transpired, is not a certified forensic pathologist, and he of course has changed his original testimony and confirmed that Dr Todd was not killed by garrotting."
When asked to comment on the credibility of the investigations and the inquiry process:
"All of you can judge for yourself. The police officers went on the stand, they were questioned, they gave their evidence, they gave their testimony, and their processes were subject to total scrutiny."
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